


The value of nothing

by Look_for_the_miracles



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Decision Making, Endgame, F/M, One-Shot, Post-snap, Things to be gained, Things to be lost, Time Travel, effects of the Snap, what's the value of a life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:35:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24022198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Look_for_the_miracles/pseuds/Look_for_the_miracles
Summary: In the small hours of the morning, he sits by the lake and thinks of all the things he has and all the things he’s lost. He thinks of their value. He thinks of the value of a life. The value of everything and anything. The value of nothing.Tony Stark has lost a whole lot since the world was changed. Everything he'd known floated away in a cloud of ash and dust. But he's also gained a whole lot that he never thought he would. The chance to save all the Lost is not one to be taken lightly. But Tony can't risk everything he's gained just for the chance to save everything he's lost.
Relationships: Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Kudos: 8





	The value of nothing

In the small hours of the morning, he sits by the lake and thinks of all the things he has and all the things he’s lost. He thinks of their value. He thinks of the value of a life. The value of everything and anything. The value of nothing. 

Dipping his fingers in the cool water is soothing, but not nearly as helpful as he hoped it would be. Being surrounded by nature is a good thing. It’s simple. So much simpler than the choice he has to make. To save billions. And to risk everything he’s built since … since Then. Since the day everything change. Since he lost, and everyone lost, and the universe lost. They lost everything and gained nothing.

But then the years passed, and things changed again. A new order settled in. They remembered the Lost, the Dusted. Then they forged new things from the ash. They built towers and castles from the rubble of old loves, broken bonds, and shattered hearts. Together they healed a little of the hurt. They rebuilt. Even if it was only a tiny bit.

He’s managed to build something from the rubble as well. He has a wife – beautiful, caring, and the most wonderful human available. He has a daughter. She shines like a beacon in the darkness, glowing with happiness and joy. His beautiful little one. She’s never known a world unlike this one. She was born in the After. She doesn’t know the pain of the Before.

He can’t risk her. Not his precious child. Not his marriage. Not the thousands of others who found new happiness in the After. The ones who have found cracks of sunlight in the clouded sky. All of them have gained something. It’s worth keeping. It’s worth saving.

And yet.

They have a chance to save the Lost. To bring everyone back. To save them. But what is the cost? Who stays and who goes? How do you protect what you have gained and still recover what you’ve lost?

His darling wife understands him. He won’t be able to rest, not with the knowledge burning in his mind. It’ll forever be his ‘what if’ should he turn away. There’s no denying that now. He can’t not take this chance to save the ones he loves. To save the loved ones of a whole universe, still churning with guilt and sorrow.

So he stands from the lake and turns his back on the water. He steps towards the house and the precious things inside. He’ll risk everything he has to bring them all back. A second chance is worth everything and nothing. The value of everything, the value of nothing. He can’t do nothing, not now. There’s half a universe to save, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this piece just came to me all of a sudden. It's not really been edited, so apologies for any mistakes that appear. 
> 
> And, well, I guess it's a bit late considering how long Endgame has been out now, but there is no controlling plot bunnies. Inspiration will strike where it wants.


End file.
